A Raven's Ghost
by scifiromance
Summary: What if Chakotay had come to Seven's aid when Voyager found the U.S.S Raven? Written for battlevalkyrie who supplied the idea.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: Hello everyone, welcome to my new fic! Thanks to battlevalkyrie for updating "Timeline" again last night and for giving me the idea for this fic. She's hurt her foot so I hope my starting this helps her to feel a little better. It's a rewrite of the episode "The Raven".**

The clack of her heels made an unnaturally loud echo as she walked aimlessly through Voyager's halls. At least, she believed it was Voyager, if Voyager could truly be as abandoned and oddly colourless as the place she now walked. Every time she looked around for an identifying marker, a particular access panel perhaps, the corridor would twist and contort alarmingly and adrenaline flooding her limbs would force her stumblingly forward. For a disturbing moment, confusion reigned over her normally regimented mind, her ears rang and the scene before her became impossibly tinted, almost to sepia. She had enough strength of pull her pacing feet to a halt, although she teetered on them as she tried to calm herself, I'm regenerating, this malfunction will soon correct itself or the cycle will cease… She could hear these thoughts leaving her mouth as shameful mutterings, akin to a prayer, and quickly pressed her lips closed but no sooner had she done this than they opened again in a shocked shriek as a huge black bird, its wingspan so wide that it blocked out any light from behind it, swooped down on her from nowhere. Her head ducked defensively downwards as it seized her golden hair in its claws, tugging half of it free from its habitual bun so that it fell protectively over one side of her face like a curtain. She could feel blood trickling down her neck from the stinging scrape on her scalp but didn't dare look up to bat the bird away.

The bird seemed satisfied with that assault however, instead assailing her ears as it circled her in a predatory manner. "Caw! Caw! Caw!" It called out to her insistently, but the sound made her cringe away, heart and head pounding with inexplicable terror as she tried desperately to retreat. "_CAW_!" The cry was a wild scream of intent as it moved to hover perilously close, its powerful wing beats funnelling icy cloud air against her face. Despite the fear that gripped her at the sight of this creature she found that she was paralysed, unable to drag her gaze away from its beady eye. Staring into the unblinking eye, she could see her own pitiful reflection reflected in the yellow iris and grimaced. The bird cocked its head at her then, before swiftly twisting away from her and gliding elegantly down the corridor, which suddenly seemed endless and foreboding.

Overwhelming her fear, no, her hatred of this bird, was the pull towards it. It was the only other presence here. She had to avoid being alone at all costs, especially here… Suddenly her legs were bounding forward after the bird against her will, she felt as if she were tethered to it like a cart to a horse. It seemed to taunt her, sometimes close enough for panic to close her throat, sometimes so far distant that the fear of abandonment pushed her towards hysteria. "_Wait_!" She finally screamed out desperately, bile rising in her throat at the same time.

The bird stopped dead, just in front of a doorway that seemed to envelop both itself and her in an instant. She blinked rapidly, disorientated and fighting the unfamiliar burn of tears. At first, for a relieved millisecond if that, she believed herself to have found Voyager's Bridge, but it was too small. Outdated, cramped and damaged, the only thing that caught her interest in the ghostly room was the bird, perched on the console nearest the improbably large viewscreen, watching her. Then, the viewscreen came to life. Stars zoomed past as a rocky outcrop of a moon sped towards them, faster and faster until she could feel the floor tilting. She hadn't decided the meaning of this before the bird screeched a warning and suddenly she was in the air, staring into the face of a Borg drone who held her up by the throat. Her hands clawed wildly at the dead white fingers as the bird shrieked in fearful protest but soon she could neither hear nor see.

* * *

Seven of Nine's body lurched violently free of the restraints of her alcove, the movement punching badly needed air into her lungs and forcing a single choked scream from her throat. "Regeneration cycle incomplete." The Computer intoned in reprimand from somewhere above her, but she ignored it and stumbled gratefully onto the cold floor of Cargo Bay 2. Her body demanded a few moments of reaction, of gasping and shaking, before she could even try to recover and when she had somewhat it still took her several minutes to be able to turn to her alcove again to assess her experience logically. Eventually, as she had done for the last eight nights, she checked her alcove for malfunctions and once again found none. Her glare of exhausted frustration deepened, there was _no _reason for this! Regeneration cycles were, admittedly, designed to catalogue the information gathered since the previous cycle and log it into her cortical node, but nothing of her recent experiences on Voyager should bring delusions of birds and the irrational fear which accompanied them!

Sighing, she made her way slowly over to Cargo Bay 2's sole computer console. "Seven of Nine's personal log, Stardate 744901.2." She grimaced at the perceptible quaver in her voice and tried to swallow it back, after all the only way to understand any phenomenon was to record it meticulously. Taking a deep breath, she began, "It happened again, this means I have experienced these…hallucinations for nine successive regeneration cycles. The bird was, as always, present, although it came sooner this time…" She paused uncertainly, "It seemed to _know_ me…" She whispered before stopping herself with a shake of her head, she must be factual only. "I followed it, as if searching for something. Then, a new development, it stopped and a Borg assimila…" She stopped again, shocked at herself. She shouldn't be scared of the Borg, she _was _Borg. She glanced down at the detailed diagram of the bird she'd relayed from memory to the console, tempted to check if such a creature existed but unease made her dismiss the idea as she had before. Was it really relevant if the non-existent bird resembled a real one or not?

Captain Janeway's voice, echoing suddenly through her comm. badge, lifted the weight of such from her for the moment. "Seven of Nine, please report to the Bridge."

"Yes Captain." Seven replied as smoothly as she could before cutting the line off with a quick tap of her badge and addressing the Computer sharply, "Computer, end personal log."

* * *

Captain Janeway lowered the rapidly cooling cup of strong black coffee from her lips as she heard the Bridge's doors opening behind her. She flashed Seven a brief smile of welcome as the newest member of her crew entered, punctual as always, but the younger woman just regarded her impassively. She tried again, knowing after the incident with the Caatati that the former drone was capable of a degree of warmth, however awkwardly expressed. "Good Morning Seven."

It may have been her imagination but Janeway was sure she detected a tired sigh escaping Seven as she replied robotically, "How can I be of assistance?"

Chakotay answered before his Captain could, turning in his chair to regard Seven levelly. Seven couldn't help but have a measure of respect for that gaze, there was a definite wariness in it of her that she understood and returned in kind, but there was also a willingness to give her a little benefit of the doubt. "B'Elanna needs deuterium down in Engineering, but some sort of spacial interference is disrupting our scans. Can you find a way through it?"

"I will make an attempt Commander." Seven answered him in a detached tone, immediately heading for her assigned console on the Bridge. She read all the available data within a few seconds and made a conclusion, "It is simple dendrite radiation. I will adapt the scanners to…" The rest of the sentence stuck in her throat as a sharp stabbing pain burrowed suddenly into her head. She couldn't stop herself giving a brief gasp of pain.

"Seven?" The Captain asked worriedly, rising from her chair in concern, "Are you alright?"

"I…believe so Captain…" Seven replied slowly but the Captain wasn't convinced, now noticing circles around the other woman's eyes that were so vivid they looked like bruises and a frown of persistent pain.

"Go to Sickbay and get the Doctor to check you over." She ordered firmly.

Seven was about to object when the ringing in her ears which had been lingering since she emerged from her disrupted cycle changed to a constant, unnerving drone. "I perhaps do require maintenance Captain." She admitted regretfully.

"Then go." The Captain urged sympathetically.

"Do you want me to come with you Seven?" Ensign Harry Kim asked her anxiously from his post at Ops.

Seven shook her head, instead handing him a hurriedly downloaded PADD. "No Ensign, you must adapt the sensors to these specifications." She instructed as she stepped towards the door.

Harry's mouth dropped open slightly as he read the mind numbing amount of data she'd given him. "Okay…" He agreed uncertainly.

Seven gave him and the Bridge crew a perfunctory nod before disappearing into the turbolift to go to Sickbay.

* * *

"Hmm…" The Doctor mused thoughtfully as he scanned Seven for the second time in as many minutes. "Well, your electrolyte levels are definitely low." He concluded, snapping his tricorder shut. "Haven't you been regenerating?"

Seven stiffened, her expression pensive. "I have not successfully completed a cycle in nine days." She admitted ruefully.

"Nine days?" The Doctor echoed incredulously, "Why on Earth not?"

"I have been experiencing…hallucinations which apparently disrupt my brain patterns." Seven mumbled in embarrassment.

The Doctor studied her for a moment, seeing that she was deadly serious. "Can you describe these…hallucinations?" he probed carefully.

Seven heaved in a deep breath, "I am walking along Voyager's corridors. I'm always alone and I feel like I'm searching for something. The route ahead of me distorts and changes before eventually I am attacked…" She winced as she felt the fear return, her throat tightening, "…by a large black bird. I'm afraid of the bird but I chase it, until…until a Borg seizes and assimilates me…"

She was stopped by the Doctor's hand on her shoulder. "Seven, that's not a hallucination, that's a dream or a nightmare in this case, they're a perfectly normal experience for humans and most other species."

"I have never _dreamed_ before and I have no reason to start." Seven informed him coldly, "Besides, why would I be afraid of birds, or Borg for that matter, in this…dream? Birds are an inferior life form and I _am _Borg."

The Doctor shook his head at her, saddened by the certainty in her last phrase. "You're not Borg anymore Seven, at least not fully. You have to remember that you were violently assimilated as a human child of six. It's really no wonder that some of those repressed memories are coming back to you in this way."

Seven frowned at him, obviously not truly believing his words. "And when will these...dreamed memories cease?"

The Doctor could only shrug. "That I can't tell you, it'll only stop when you deal with whatever is bothering you." He didn't want to tell her that such nightmares, after what she'd been through, may haunt her for the rest of her life.

For a moment he saw sadness and intense fear flash across Seven's face like a lightning bolt, but within seconds she'd reapplied her mask of stoicism and icy dignity. "Thank you Doctor." She muttered distractedly as she slid of the biobed and left Sickbay without a second glance.

**A/n: I've taken a lot of liberties with the episode I know, but I haven't seen it in a while. I hope you still like it and want more. PLEASE REVIEW! :D If anyone else has any C/7 ideas they want me to have a go at writing, just let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: Thanks to khrom for updating "The Borg Files". :) I really enjoyed the chapter.**

Harry Kim glanced up from the reels of data being presented by Astrometrics sensors as the doors behind him whoosh softly open in welcome to a new arrival. He fought the by now familiar quiver in his knees as he saw Seven walk in and leaned lightly on the console to maintain his unaffected composure as he tried not to be hurt by her complete dismissal of his presence. "Hey Seven." He greeted carefully while also cursing how inadequate the words sounded to his ears.

They had the desired effect on Seven though, she jumped slightly and he was unsettled to see her Borg hand shaking as it rested on the control panel. Her eyes, when they met his, were obviously dazed but within an instant her usual cool detachment had reasserted itself, the worrying disorientation gone. "Ensign." She replied with the polite inclination of her head which he had learned was her interpretation of a cordial greeting. Harry didn't really expect her to say any more, based on previous experience, but she surprised him by speaking again after a few silent moments, "I apologise for leaving you to perform the sensor reconfigurations unassisted, it was lax of me."

Harry smiled despite the decidedly sombre, almost ashamed tone of her voice. Apologies were definitely a step forward! "It was no problem Seven, you were ordered to report to Sickbay after all." He paused, flushing as he was met by her disarming gaze, "At least, there's no problem if I've done your modifications right…" He amended sheepishly.

"You have." Seven assured him firmly, a mild smirk of amusement fluttering over her features before a brief wince shattered it.

Harry frowned at her in concern, "I hope I'm not crossing a line here Seven, but are you really okay? I know the Doctor checked you over but…"

"A headache, derived from lack of regeneration, nothing more." Seven answered perfunctorily, her attention again stubbornly fixated on the sensor readings in front of her, "There is an L Class planet in the system 2.1 light-years from our current position which appears to have a deuterium rich surface. I will forward the co-ordinates to the Bridge for consideration."

Within a few moments of Seven's impossibly speedy fingers dialling in the appropriate command, the Captain's pleased voice echoed through the comm. system, "Well done Seven, Harry. We're changing headings to go to that system right now. Conduct more in-depth planetary scans if you can, we need to know how easy it's going to be to reach this deuterium."

Harry gave Seven's console a sidelong glance, she had pre-empted the Captain's order. "We've already started Captain."

"Good, keep me updated. We should be within visual range in five minutes or so. Janeway out." The Captain replied briskly before the system obediently clicked off.

"So…" Harry began stutteringly after about a minute of silence, although it was probably only awkward for him. "Why haven't you been regenerating? Is there something wrong with your alcove?"

Seven stiffened, studying him through narrowed eyes before releasing a small sigh. "The Doctor believes…" Her lips curled tightly inwards, clearly illustrating her dissatisfaction with the Doctor's conclusion, "…that "nightmares" are disrupting my regeneration cycles."

"Nightmares?" Harry echoed dubiously, "I didn't know you could have…" He cringed as he belatedly realised how insulting he sounded.

Seven however, was nonplussed. "Neither did I." She admitted ruefully, "Nor was I even aware of the concept."

"You weren't?" Harry asked, swallowing as she nodded. "Nightmares aren't something you _want _to be aware of but I guess we all have them. My mom always said warm milk helps."

A phantom of a smile danced briefly over Seven's face, "Then perhaps I will follow her recommendation."She said quietly.

Harry beamed at her gleefully; this conversation was going much better than he'd hoped! Before he could continue it however, his console beeped an insistent alert. "We're in visual range of the planet." He announced, immediately pulling the image of the planet. Its silver rings, larger and more spectacular than even Saturn's, hung like a magnificent choker over the midnight blue surface. The sensors counted over 30 moons in orbit around it. "It's amazing!" He exclaimed, "I hope we get to go down there…" He stopped as Seven's stifled, frightened, gasp hit his ears, a sound he'd never expected to hear. He turned to watch her warily. She was frozen in place, her eyes eerily fixated on the stunning image before them and her face rendered chalk white by panic. "Seven? What's wro…" His question was cut off by her grunt of pain as her whole body gave a violent jerk. Harry recoiled backwards in horror as he saw a new implant sprout out on her human hand, then another burst of metal erupted from her temple like some sort of grotesque bloom. "Oh my God!" Harry jarred his hand against his comm. badge, "Doctor, report to Astrometrics…"

"I…must return…" Seven declared robotically, although her voice was broken and strained, "The Borg! The Borg are calling…" Her blank eyes blink closed for a split second before she promptly turned on her heel and strode purposefully out into the hallway.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Janeway questioned Chakotay heatedly as they ran breathlessly towards Astrometrics.

"Harry just said new implants came from her and she left, saying "The Borg were calling her"…" Chakotay explained.

"That's impossible!" Janeway cried out in exasperation, "We're thousands of light-years away from Borg Space, Seven knows that better than anyone…" She trailed off, her lips pursing anxiously, "She's come so far in the month she's been here, she _was_ adapting." She told Chakotay resolutely, "I know she doesn't want to go back…"

Chakotay paused to grip the woman's shoulder. "You may have to face the possibility that you're wrong Kathryn…" He winced at her glare, even though he'd been expecting it, "But until then we'll give her the benefit of the doubt and try to help her." He reasoned gently.

"You bet we will." Janeway muttered defensively and met the eyes of every member of the security team surrounding them. "Keep your phasers on stun and only use them as a last resort, understood?" she ordered sharply.

"Yes Captain…" The gold and black suited crewmen all began to reply but were interrupted by the arrival of the fugitive herself, striding confidently down the hallway as if indifferent of the heavily armed crewmen swarming around her like bees and also her Captain's stricken face.

"Seven, what are you doing?" The Captain asked cautiously, approaching the woman slowly, as she would a wild animal. "We need to talk about this…"

Seven ignored all but the first question. "The Borg are summoning me. I must go to them." Her voice was leaden and matter-of-fact.

"Seven, the Borg _can't _be summoning you! They're not here, it would take years to reach Borg Space!" The Captain argued, worry making her attempts at reasoning sound harsh.

"They _are _summoning me." Seven countered with icy insistence but Chakotay saw a flash of confusion burn across her face as her hands tightened into stubborn fists. "I can…hear them calling for me."

Chakotay stepped forward to stop the Captain's desperate retort, he doubted it would help. Seven's pupils were pinpoints, like a drug addict, and he could see her muscles taunt and ready. Despite her apparent regression back into the hold of the Collective mind, he sensed hope. When Seven had truly been a drone, she'd constantly referred to herself in the plural, while now she still clung to first person. Also, he sensed none of the unrepentant violent intent he'd witnessed when he'd met her as a drone, instead this was a form of automaton determination. "Look Seven, if you come with us, we'll help you scan for and find the Borg, okay?" He suggested thoughtfully. He saw her pause and took a deep breath, "That would be more efficient wouldn't it?" he coaxed.

Seven's lips pressed together, almost regretfully. "There is no time Commander." Her cybernetic arm sprang up from her side and began to dial unknown commands into the wall console.

"Stop her!" The Captain shouted. Several phasers fired in a wild flurry but a luminous green shield formed instantaneously around Seven's body and absorbed the weapons fire with harmless ease. Seven tilted her head up definitely as she moved forward utterly unscathed, pressing one final button and within a blink of an eye the transporter had beamed her away.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: I owe a big thank you to lightbane1905 for giving me so much great information on Native American Mythology; I'll be referring to it throughout the story.**

Captain Janeway slammed one hand onto her comm. badge, her nails scraping frantically against the metal, as it registered in her stunned mind that Seven had really disappeared. "Where did she go?"

It was Tom Paris' voice which shed light on the situation from the Bridge, "She beamed herself onto a shuttle Captain. Somehow she managed to take control of the Computer long enough to launch from the Shuttle Bay, I couldn't stop her…"

Chakotay sighed heavily, he'd feared something like that and from the distraught expression on the Captain's face so had she. "I know Tom, it's too late to do anything other than follow her now…"

The long pause on the other end of the line made his heart sink, "I'm trying to, but she went to warp and masked the trail almost as soon as the shuttle left the bay, I'm not sure if…"

"Well keep trying until you are sure Lieutenant!" The Captain interjected sharply before taking a deep, stabilising breath in an attempt to calm herself, "Get B'Elanna up there to help you, Chakotay and I are on our way up."

"Yes ma'am." Tom agreed immediately, although she flinched at the note of sympathy in his tone.

"What have we got?" Chakotay asked as he followed the Captain out of the turbolift and onto the Bridge. He automatically looked to his old friend and Maquis comrade B'Elanna for an answer, but watched the Captain worriedly from the corner of one eye. He knew she'd be beating herself up over this, it had been at her insistence, against his strongly worded advice, that they'd kept the troubled ex-drone abroad. It had been Captain Janeway who'd taken the brunt of the responsibility for taming the traumatised young woman who they had wrenched from the Collective, literally kicking and screaming. Despite the doubts that still lingered, painfully strengthened by the current situation, Chakotay had to admit that he too had become emotionally invested in Seven's rehabilitation and, judging from the Bridge crew's unanimously morose faces, everyone had. He supposed it felt good to have some hope against the seemingly unstoppable Borg, although that now seemed to be fading rapidly.

"We've got a virtually untraceable shuttlecraft." B'Elanna answered resignedly, "It seems she found a way to break up the warp trail so that it blended in with background radiation. There are still some markers I can search for but I'd need a smaller search area."

"Which is exactly what we don't have." Tom pointed out with an irritated sigh, his fists clenching in agitation.

Janeway turned her eyes on Chakotay as he sat down in the chair beside hers. "You told her we could search for Borg activity…" She mused thoughtfully.

The ever reliable Tuvok anticipated the Captain's next request, "I have ran a scan for Borg vessels in this sector Captain and have found nothing."

"She was so _certain _she could hear them, there has to be something…" Janeway muttered desperately under her breath, gripping the arms of her chair until her knuckles went white.

Chakotay leaned towards her, saying quietly, "Captain, I know you don't want to consider this, but maybe she could hear them because she _wanted_ to. Her psyche may have just snapped under the strain, she was a drone for so long…" He stopped as he saw her face harden in denial.

"She's had a multitude of chances to leave us Commander." Janeway reminded him pointedly, her eyes narrowing into angry slits, "She's had every opportunity to outwit us, harm us even, and she hasn't. Until I know the facts about why she's gone, I'm going to keep that thought in mind."

A twinge of guilt pulled at Chakotay's chest when she put it like that, and he could see from the momentary glint of relief, as well as triumph, in her eyes as she met his gaze straight on. "As we all should Captain." He conceded simply, "We owe her that much at least."

"Of course we do!" Harry agreed loudly, flushing as he saw both of his superiors turn to face him. "I mean, I'm pretty sure she didn't want to go back, she told me she was having nightmares…"

"Nightmares?" The Captain echoed, hurt and uncertainty passing over her proud features, "She never said anything…"

"I kind of coaxed it out of her." Harry admitted, staring down at his feet.

Tom gave a small snort. "Yeah, sure you did Harry." Harry's crushing nerves around women, Seven in particular, was known not only by his best friend but by everyone on the ship except perhaps Seven herself.

The Captain silenced Tom with a look. "How did she seem to you Harry?" she asked the Ensign with gentle encouragement, "You were the last one to have a coherent conversation with her."

Harry paused to consider his answer, "She seemed…upset, no, more like confused. Then, just before the implants appeared, she was _scared_, panicky even."

Chakotay's mouth set in a grim line as possibilities churned in his brain. "She's been acting strange all day, ever since we entered this region. Something about this place…" He waved his hand at the looming image of the planet ahead of them on the viewscreen, "…disturbed her badly enough to run away."

"Maybe the Borg committed some sort of atrocity here?" B'Elanna suggested, "Something she couldn't face?

Harry gulped and even Tuvok grimaced ever so slightly, but it was Tom who asked the obvious question, "Worse than all their other atrocities?

"Whatever it may be, we need to find out." The Captain declared firmly as she rose smoothly from her chair, "I think the answer may lie in her nightmares. Chakotay, Harry, come with me, we're taking a visit down to Cargo Bay 2."

* * *

Chakotay shivered as he pushed aside another crate full of spare console parts from his path, but he could see the search wasn't going to yield much. Seven didn't seem to have any personal belongings other than the few biosuits the Doctor had replicated for her to wear, a hairbrush and a handful of hairpins. Seven's lifestyle was certainly minimalist living done to the extreme. If it wasn't for the single active alcove in the row the Borg had left behind there would be no outward sign of Seven living here at all. He was struck by the desolate, lonely nature of the place, at that moment he couldn't have blamed Seven if she had longed for the Collective's company. He glanced up to see Harry picking through crates much as he was while the Captain focused intently on the room's console, probably reading logs. Neelix then entered the room and Chakotay approached him along with the Captain, who asked eagerly, "Any news Neelix?"

"No Captain." Neelix reported regretfully, biting his lip as he glanced over at Seven's alcove, "Some crewmembers in Engineering are suggesting that we deactivate Seven's alcove for now, it does drain a great deal of power…"

"Let it." Janeway replied stiffly in answer before being softened by Neelix's understanding expression, "I'll consider that in a few days, for now tell them to keep it running.

Neelix bowed his head and smiled at her. "Of course Captain.

As the Talaxian left, Chakotay came to his Captain's side in concern, "Are you alright Captain?

Janeway took a deep breath. "No." She admitted honestly before indicating the console in front of her, "Seven's log entries aren't proving helpful, until recently they catalogued her routine in excruciating detail, but over the last few days she's written extra sections encrypted with Borg alphanumeric code ."

"The "personal" part of her personal log." Chakotay concluded with a tiny smile. The point of the code was most likely to prevent an overprotective Janeway from reading it, but he wasn't about to tell her that now. Suddenly an idea hit him, "Harry, didn't Seven teach you how to read Borg code while the two of you were building Astrometrics?"

"Yeah…" Harry confirmed, colouring at the memory and Chakotay knew why. There had been some strained relations during that project and since Janeway had been on an away mission at the time he'd been left to deal with the fallout. He could remember, with a clarity that surprised him, Seven's bemused face as she sought an explanation for why Harry "displayed all physical signs of attraction" and then refused her. Of course, Harry had preferred a date to the procreation Seven had assumed was the point of such things. He'd had to explain to both to hold off and he knew Harry was still embarrassed by the encounter. He smiled to himself, there was no shame in it really. In fact, if a concept of romance replaced Seven's naivety, then her relative lack of pretence would probably be refreshingly attractive to most men. He sighed in frustration at his train of thought, if they didn't Seven back, she'd never get the chance to learn to enjoy life…

The Captain replying to Harry broke through his thoughts, "Ensign, can you decode these logs?"

"Sure, she gave me a decryption programme." Harry answered, going to the console and dialling in a command, "She's talking about her nightmares." He began to read, "I'm always on a ship, I presume it is Voyager although there are few identifying characteristics…"

The Captain continued where he'd left off, "A black bird, with a wide wingspan, attacks me violently. I am afraid of this bird, hate it, but I always follow it…" The Captain paused thoughtfully, "It sounds like she's describing a crow, or a raven…"

"A raven?" Chakotay repeated dumbly.

The Captain arched an eyebrow, "Yes, a raven, do you disagree?"

Chakotay shook his head. "No, it may well be." He avoided her quizzical gaze, "Sorry Captain, it just made me think of stories my father told me. Ravens have a great deal of symbolism in dreams."

"Really?" The Captain said sceptically, "What do you…"

She was interrupted by the Doctor running into the room. "Captain, I just studied the scans the transporter ran on Seven as she beamed out and I found something enlightening…"

"What exactly?" The Captain interrupted impatiently.

"A dormant implant, something I can only describe as a homing beacon, has been activated in her cortical node." The Doctor explained, "Basically the programming in her implants is pulling her towards wherever is emitting the signal."

"Against her will?" Chakotay asked.

"Fundamentally yes, although she's been conditioned for so long she couldn't fight it even if she were fully aware of it, which I doubt." The Doctor answered.

"What could be emitting the signal?" Harry questioned seriously.

The Doctor gave an exasperated shrug, "Anything that's come into contact with the Borg, even partial assimilation would…"

The snap of the Captain's fingers interrupted the Doctor's explanation, "A raven, the Hansens' ship was the U.S.S Raven! This could be where they were assimilated!"

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

She stepped out of the shuttle and set out over the rough ground without looking back, in fact how she'd got here was already fading from her mind. She had the blind determination of a sleepwalker as she stumbled stubbornly over the sandy rock, retracing a path only she could see and follow. The wind was harsh, pushing and tugging at her, drying out her skin and obscuring her eyes with sand, it seemed even the elements were pleading with her to go back. Ultimately though, she was ignorant of everything except the commands running through her head on a loop, calling her back as the same invisible master urged her on with the pain surging through her implants. In fact, she barely needed the encouragement. She was like a well disciplined dog, on a tight leash but still content to go home without a fight. If she'd had, in her dreamlike state, much sense of herself left, she'd have realised, as the orders grew insistently louder in her ears and her goal came into sight, that said target did not look much like the Borg vessels on which she'd existed as far back as she could clearly remember. As she approached, what she saw gouged into the sandy dunes was not the majestic symmetry of a Cube or Sphere but instead nothing more than a hollow shell, with even its metallic casing appearing to rot away.

Her organic, human, senses told her that it was surely abandoned, but the technology which had always dominated her otherwise frail body screamed otherwise so she entered the structure with a simplistic confidence. It was dark inside, disordered and shambolic with debris everywhere, but just as before she was guided towards what she sought. She found the familiar green light emitted by anything taken by the Collective almost immediately, but as soon as she touched it, as reverently as a penitent at an altar, the light died. In that instant, the voice that had been summoning her here fell deadly silent, it was as if the chains that had been dragging her here had snapped, completely and abruptly. Her humanity came back with an unrelenting surge, but it offered no relief as the true, nightmarish, significance of the place invaded her memory…

* * *

Tom Paris turned anxiously away from the comm. as he heard the turbolift doors open behind him and the Captain, Chakotay and Harry re-entered the Bridge. "It seems your hunch was right Captain, we've found readings of a small vessel crashed on one of the moons orbiting this planet. From what we can tell from here, the debris has a Federation signature."

The Captain sighed heavily, her face pale. "So that's it then, we've found the Raven." She murmured resignedly before addressing B'Elanna firmly, trying to maintain complete professionalism. "Have you managed to locate Seven's shuttle anywhere near that moon Lieutenant?"

"According to the sensors I set up to search for it specifically, she landed it within half a kilometre of the wreckage." B'Elanna replied pensively. Honestly, she had never thought much of the Captain's plan to restore Seven to humanity, she doubted it would ever be possible, but the thought of Seven being dragged against her will to what was, in most fundamental ways, her own gravesite was distressing even to her.

"Then we'll just have to do the same." The Captain declared determinedly, "Put the moon up on the viewscreen and prepare a shuttle for launch."

It only took a few seconds for the moon, which had been mostly hidden by the midnight blue giant it served, to appear fully on the viewscreen. They were all shaken by the sight of it; little more than a rocky outcrop, a desolate desert in space and somewhere none of them would like to spend their last few minutes as individuals, but for Chakotay seeing it was like a kick in the skull. He could suddenly see in his mind's eye, through the tiny window into Seven's memories he'd been given access to when he'd forcibly broken her link with the Collective and started all this, this moon looming closer and closer as the Raven plunged towards it in its last dying moments as the Borg attacked. "This is it…" He croaked out, his voice hoarse with the fear little Annika Hansen had felt, "This is where she was assimilated."

The Captain's eyes widened as she heard the absolute certainty in his voice and realised how he must know. "Chakotay, did you see…"

He only answered with a nod as he recovered his sense of himself with a gulp. "She's down there, that's the only place she can be." He said regretfully.

The Captain immediately turned back towards the turbolift, obviously intending to go down to the shuttle bay herself. "Then we need to go and get her back here…" She was stopped by Tuvok's strong, unyielding hand on her arm.

"Captain, I believe the most logical course of action would be for you to remain here. We are unsure what her state of mind will be and you are perhaps too involved to be objective in what may need to be done to help her." He advised stoically, though as he met the Captain's upset gaze, his own was a fraction more gentle than usual.

The Captain took a deep breath before carefully freeing her arm. "You're right Mr Tuvok." She reluctantly agreed before raising an eyebrow at her old friend. "Are you volunteering?"

"I believe my presence would be logical, yes." Tuvok answered smoothly, "My sense of calm may useful in such a situation."

The Captain's lips gave an affectionate twitch, wondering if his logic really gave him the excuse to care about Seven. "Yes, I'm sure it will Mr Tuvok."

This whole conversation had instigated a lot of heart-searching for Chakotay, but when he stepped forward he was sure of what he needed to do. "I want to go too Captain. I know better than most what we're getting into with Borg mind links."

The Captain looked at him in surprise, "_You_ want to help…" She trailed off, biting her lip guiltily as she met Chakotay's unwavering gaze. She should have known he'd put a sense of honour before his lingering reservations about Seven, if he could he'd do anything to help any member of this crew. "Well, you did manage to reach her through the Collective grip before, let's hope you can do it again." She told him tiredly in permission.

Tom stood up from the comm. "You'll need a good pilot to land on that hell hole of a moon." He remarked with a small smile.

The Captain offered him and the whole anxiously looking Bridge crew a tremulous, yet proud, smile. "I'm sure Seven would be happy to find that she has so many true friends here. It's time to bring her back so she can see that for herself."

* * *

"This tricorder says we should be almost there." Tom reported as they left both their shuttle and Seven's behind to walk forward together in search of her.

"It would seem we are already there Lieutenant." Tuvok responded coolly as his focused gaze, almost unaffected by the bright sunlight around them, settled on a shape not too far in front of them.

Chakotay used his hand as a visor to block the blinding light and quickly saw what Tuvok was referring to. A debris field, spread over several metres lay directly in front of them. The main body of the wreckage, which had probably been the hull at one point, was entrenched in the ground like a rusting blade, a grotesque wound in the barren landscape. Even more disturbingly, he could see signs of Borg activity, fragments of components and the like, but most strikingly the hull itself seemed to have been it one point assimilated, or at least an attempt had been made. He could see the tell-tale, silver untainted metal scarring over the dull, fire blackened carcass of the original ship. He couldn't hold back an initial horrified gasp, but soon braced himself for duty and moved towards it. "She must be in there, let's go search."

Tom paused uncertainly, "Surely even some whacked out implant wouldn't make her go in there…"

It was Tuvok who replied as Chakotay gave a bitter snort. "Assimilation can cause anyone to do anything. That is precisely why the Borg are so feared and powerful."

"This isn't up for discussion anyway." Chakotay said resolutely, "We're going in." With that final order, he sprinted off towards the ship with Tuvok and Tom right behind him. He reached the wreckage first, his eyes skilfully sweeping over it for a way inside the fragile ruin. Finding a hole where a breach had widened sufficiently to almost the breadth of his shoulders, he silently signalled Tom and Tuvok to follow him, fearful of alerting Seven too soon, and then slipped sideways through the gap. The stale air inside, rank with all kinds of decay, hit him even before the extent of the sheer destruction within. Slabs of metal that had once been strong bulkheads serving as walls had bucked and entire support beams were sagging into the crumbling floor, often hanging from the sunken ceiling by nothing more than a few resilient exposed power cables. Despite these dangers, he carefully stepped over everything in his path as he tried to figure out where in this mess Seven could be. Lost in his thoughts, he jumped when he stepped on something unexpectedly soft and looked down to find that he'd stood on a scrap of fabric. Curious, he picked it up, his heart clenching as he belatedly realised what it was. A child's comfort blanket, torn in half, its buttercup yellow colour faded to dirty grey, but still undeniably recognisable. Nausea burned its way up his throat as he was struck by another glimpse of memory that wasn't his. He saw through her eyes the blanket falling from her hand as she bolted under the comm. console to hide, her father's warning cry ringing through her ears…

He found himself on his knees as her memory left him as soon as it had come and he had to swallow hard before he could bring himself to analyse it. He had to find the console; he suddenly knew that was where she would be. He was just about to stand again when from his current eye-level he caught sight of a toe of a boot and realised it peeked out from the base of a half crushed console. Hurriedly, without waiting for Tom and Tuvok, he crawled towards it. Even when he was crouched in front of the console she was hard to spot, her cowering back curved flush against the console and her long legs tucked tight into herself in the foetal position. It was only the glazed gleam of her unmistakable eyes that made him sure. "Seven!" he gasped out in relief, but it was short lived when she didn't react, her eyes wild with fear and shifting uncontrollably, as if she saw something dramatically different in front of her than the derelict, lifeless hovel Chakotay saw. "Seven?" he tried again, more softly, but she sat as frozen as a corpse. As he looked at her implants, no longer exhibiting the unnatural sparks they had on Voyager, he suddenly wondered if her current state was more mental than physical. After all, with what she had lived through here… He started to reach out for her shuddering shoulder, and then stopped himself, speaking again instead. "Annika?" he whispered tentatively

She responded to that, her eyelashes flickering for a split second, her breath suddenly audible as her old name, the one she'd had here, reached her eyes but after that she withdrew further, lips parting in a silent scream. "Borg… Borg…"

Tuvok, who had quietly joined Chakotay when he'd heard Chakotay's first exclamation, stared at Seven levelly as he replied, "There are no Borg present here."

"They were here, but it doesn't seem like they'll be back." Tom murmured to Chakotay as he returned from his search around the extent of the wreckage, "I found the homing device the Doctor talked about, it seems to have stopped transmitting its signal to Seven as soon as she was close enough." He chewed uneasily as he looked down at his catatonic crewmate. "Maybe that sent her into some sort of shock…"

"I don't think this is all to do with her implants, she traumatised…" Chakotay answered.

"Do you want me to sedate her?" Tom asked, revealing his med kit from behind his back.

"That won't help her to recover if she stays in this state even on Voyager." Chakotay said tightly, peering at Seven unhappily.

"Whatever mental trauma she is dealing with must be resolved before it is safe to allow her to return to Voyager." Tuvok agreed, leaning forward into Seven's face. "Seven, your perspective has been warped…"

Having Tuvok's face so close to ears seemed to aggravate her over-stimulated mind and she cried out in terror, trying to scramble away, but Tuvok was quicker, grasping her head in his hands. "Your mind to my mind, my mind to your minds, our minds are now one…"

Tom gasped as Tuvok's recitations continued, "He's doing a mind meld! We can't let them risk…"

Chakotay held the other man back, "Wait, it might work." He insisted as he watched Seven's eyes drift shut in tandem with Tuvok's, grimacing as he watched the implacable Vulcan go rigid as her emotions surged through him.

The shared vision was tormented, at first Tuvok could only see a jumble of images. The faces of two adults, a man and a woman, the Hansens, first smiling and then writhing in terror, the last slab of a birthday cake, Annika's sixth, crashing to the floor as a drone tumbled the table. The rock and sway of the Raven as it dived through space towards its final resting place, Annika fleeing from her bedroom to hide under a console, watching as her parents were pinned to the floor, assimilation tubules piercing their necks, and the final drone grasped around to drag Annika out from her hiding place… Tuvok finally regained control of the vision, impressing his own Vulcan restraints on her stricken mind, "This is over. There is no danger. Remove these thoughts from your mind, discard the emotions…"

Chakotay knew it was over when Tuvok's shaking hands released Seven from their grip. "Are you alright?" he asked anxiously. He could see Seven's confusion and terror present in Tuvok's eyes for an instant before his expression closed up and he gave an exhausted nod. Seven, on the other hand, seemed to have gained some of Tuvok's calm as she watched the scene, her body still and her gaze vacant before her eyes rolled violently back in her head and she fell forward with a sharp sigh. Thankfully, Chakotay managed to catch her now truly unconscious body in his arms, supporting her limp frame gently against his chest for a moment with one arm as he gripped Tuvok's shoulder empathically with his other hand, glancing at a shocked Tom. "It's over. Let's get her home."

**A/n: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D **


	5. Chapter 5

Confusion, that hated feeling which had been an unknown within the Collective but during her short time on Voyager had become painfully familiar, coursed disconcertingly through Seven of Nine's mind as she registered Sickbay's ceiling swimming above her. "What…" She began, an exasperated hiss through her clenched teeth, as she tried to sit up on the biobed she was now aware of below her.

The Doctor's hand, unnervingly strong considering he was a hologram, grasped her human arm tightly and gently but firmly attempted to coax her back down. "Relax Seven, lie back." He advised calmly, "Your body has been through a lot in the past few hours."

Seven stared at him uncomprehendingly, stubbornly sitting upright despite the uncontrollable shaking she now felt rippling through all of her muscles. She recognised a quiet sigh to one side of her and now saw that the Captain was standing by her bedside, a tentative smile on her face. Seven knew that expression, of concern, pity and unease, from when Janeway had been trying to convince her to surrender her Borg identity. Seeing it again now made her heart sink a little, what had she done now that warranted attention? "Do you remember anything about what happened today Seven?" The Captain asked carefully, peering into her face.

Seven was shocked by the affect that question had on her. Incoherent images and sounds, _memories_, invaded her brain with such force that she felt a gasp catch in her throat. "No…" She started to deny as guilt, still a relatively new feeling for her, made her stomach clench. "Not clearly." She admitted more honestly, although the more she sifted through the restored memories the clearer they became and the more unsettled she felt.

The Captain and the Doctor seemed satisfied enough with this admission however, apparently they had been expecting it as the Captain barely gave a sympathetic pause before launching into an explanation. "From what we've been able to tell from your actions and the Doctor's scans Seven, one of your more…" Janeway searched around awkwardly for the right word, "…covert implants was activated by some Borg wreckage present in this region of space and forced you to follow a signal…"

"My interfacing homing beacon." Seven interrupted, more stoically than she felt, shrugging off their querying glances, "That is the only implant which does what you describe. It is designed to direct disconnected drones back to the Collective and to guide the Collective to newly assimilated territory."

The Captain couldn't hold back a grimace at her matter-of-fact tone. "Well, it did as it was designed. You left Voyager to pursue this signal, avoiding all of our attempts to keep you here!" She saw Seven frown uneasily and added reassuringly, "Don't worry Seven, we all realise that it was against your will."

"It was." Seven agreed, "I had no control over what I did while the beacon was active." She was surprised by the icy fear which clawed at her heart as she acknowledged this, a part of her knew that this implant was normal Borg procedure and she should have anticipated such a thing, but another part of her, the human side which had been given a voice on Voyager, was terrified by the total loss of self she'd experienced. It felt strange now to think that a matter of weeks ago she would have considered the homing signal a godsend, saving her from being shut out of the Collective. "Did I…damage someone in my altered state?" She asked apprehensively.

The Captain smiled at her kindly, obviously touched by her worry. "No Seven, you didn't hurt anyone. This was a medical emergency and everyone on this crew understands that, don't worry."

The Doctor now spoke up, squeezing Seven's shoulder with one hand as he held a tricorder over her with the other. "You'll never need to worry about something like this happening again either; I removed the beacon while you were unconscious. Your cybernetic systems seem to be coping fine without it." He closed the tricorder with a satisfied click.

The relief Seven felt surging through her was unexpected but overwhelming. "Thank you Doctor." She murmured sincerely before glancing at them both questioningly, "There is one factor I do not understand, my beacon should not have activated here. This region of space does not have any Borg activity; I would not have allowed Voyager to enter it otherwise."

The Captain exchanged a worried look with the Doctor. "You're right; there hasn't been any recent Borg activity…" She took a deep breath, "The wreckage that affected you was assimilated over eighteen years ago."

Seven didn't need to study their sorrowful faces; she found the answer within herself, in that muddle of dizzying, violent memories. "The Hansens. That wreckage was the Raven." She was started by how hollow her own voice sounded, by the odd lump pressing on her throat. "I was assimilated there."

The Captain nodded unhappily, "I'm sorry Seven, I wish…"

"It happened." Seven said sharply, "My being there again…remembering, changes nothing."

The Captain was struck by the pain which burned across Seven's face and enflamed her words before the younger woman feel silent again, her face impassive. "I know." She conceded, fingering the PADD she held as she considered what to do, but Seven's undeniably emotional reaction made the right choice clear. "We salvaged what we could for you. There weren't many personal belongings still intact but all of the ship's computer data, your parents' research, their personal logs, it was all still there." She sighed and leaned forward to take Seven's human hand supportively in her own, "Everything has been put in the Cargo Bay for you. I really do suggest that you go through it, sooner rather than later, it'll help you." With that firmly said, she nodded to the Doctor and turned to leave before Seven resisted this emotional breakthrough as she knew she would.

Seven's actual reply though, surprised her. "Captain, it was Lieutenant Tuvok and Commander Chakotay who assisted me, correct?"

"That's right, although Tom Paris was there too." The Captain answered, "I'm sure a thank you would suffice, they risked a lot."

Seven didn't respond as the Captain left and the Doctor let his superior's words sink in. As a medical professional he knew learning about her parents and her life with them would help Seven in the long run, but he doubted that pushing that idea would help right now, so he moved to practicalities. "You should programme a full 12 hour regeneration cycle for tonight, to recover properly from your operation…" He instructed her, pausing when he saw her flinch. "Is there some reason why you can't regenerate?" he asked probingly.

"No." Seven answered a little too quickly before allowing herself a small sigh. "During my nine most recent regeneration cycles I have experienced nightmares…"

"Oh yes." The Doctor remarked knowingly, "The birds, the ravens it would seem."

Seven shifted uncomfortably, "Yes." She confirmed, "They will stop now that the homing beacon pulling me towards the U.S.S Raven has been removed, won't they?"

"I can't answer that Seven." The Doctor told her regretfully, "From what I can tell, the homing beacon exerted no effect on your subconscious, it didn't cause the dreams." He saw her face pale and jumped into an explanation, "I'm not saying they're not related to what happened, I think that, somewhere in your mind, you knew the significance of this area and that knowledge manifested in your dreams." He patted her arm when he saw this didn't allay her anxiety, "Don't worry, the mind is the most complex organ, I'm sure everything will settle back down, but you do need to regenerate."

"I know, I will." Seven said detachedly as she slid off the biobed, "If I am fully repaired, I will leave now."

The Doctor smiled at her sympathetically, "Of course."

* * *

Chakotay gave a start as he entered the Mess Hall and saw Seven directly in front of him, sitting alone at a table clutching a mug of her mysterious "nutritional supplement" in her hands. It wasn't that he wasn't pleased to see her out of Sickbay, but he also knew something still wasn't quite right with her. Seven was a rare sight in the Mess Hall as a rule and when she did come it was a flying visit to the replicator before leaving, efficiency before appetite. Now through she sat completely unoccupied, even seeing her sitting was unusual, he could still remember Neelix having to teach her how to eat and coaxing her to sit, Borg didn't relax. Not that she looked relaxed now, quite the opposite, but she did look marginally more approachable. Whether he dared to or not was another matter, he didn't doubt that he'd seen Seven at her most vulnerable yet and he was far from sure how she'd feel about that. Would she accept his condolences, his understanding, if he could really give it? "Commander?" Seven's stilted voice answered his question, and he was left, as he perceived the slight waver in her usually cool tones, wondering if she'd heard his silent question somehow. Considering what he'd just experienced with her, the idea wasn't as remote as he'd once thought.

He raised a hand to her in acknowledgement, "Hi Seven." Somehow though that didn't seem enough and he headed for her table. "How are you doing?"

Seven felt something inside her tighten as she read his pensive expression, although she noticed that the wariness he'd previously regarded her with was gone. "The Doctor has informed me that I am fully repaired." This answer, while effective enough with other crewmembers who'd asked, suddenly seemed inadequate in front of him.

Chakotay tried to smile at her, but could sense something behind the words that saddened him. She sounded just as drone-like as always, but he knew now, for the first time, that she wasn't one. "That's good to hear." He answered truthfully.

Seven stared down into the dregs of her mug for a moment. His presence meant she was starting to regret her decision to substitute nutrition for the regeneration she was avoiding. "I believe it would be appropriate to offer you my gratitude Commander. I have already thanked Lieutenant Tuvok and you deserve the same since you played as big a part in returning me safely to Voyager. Thank you."

Chakotay was pleasantly surprised by the sincerity in her words, it brought a softness to her voice that he hadn't heard before. "I was happy to do it Seven." He assured her, sliding onto the bench across from her to look at her directly, "I'm glad you didn't go through that completely alone."

"As am I." Seven murmured distantly, her gaze downcast from his, before a sigh shook her frame. "I suppose, now that I am free from the Borg mind, recalling such trauma is an inevitability."

Chakotay felt his heart wring in grief for her. "Probably." He agreed reluctantly, "Not all of your memories will be that bad though." Hopefully, he added silently.

Seven inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement, not quite a nod, but enough to reassure him for now. "There is one thing I do not understand Commander." She told him abruptly.

Chakotay was intrigued despite himself. "What?"

Seven took a breath, "You know about my…nightmares I presume?" She waited until he nodded, and then continued, "The Doctor told me that they were not caused by my homing beacon, that they were part of my own subconscious, but I do not understand how that could be." Her tone became uncharacteristically agitated, "I do not know the purpose such fabrications could possibly have!"

Chakotay studied her for a moment before meeting her gaze levelly. "My people, I, believe that dreams have a great purpose." He told her, pausing uncertainly as he wondered whether an ex-drone of all people would listen to his beliefs, but she was watching him intently, her sky blue eyes losing their famed iciness and giving him a strange courage. "Dreams are seen as insight into the soul, and as how messages from beyond are given, a vision quest is like trying to find a specific message. We have to interpret what we see in dreams, even if it all seems muddled." He gripped the edge of the table as he remembered his father giving him this explanation long ago, "My father taught me the significance of all of nature in dreams. The raven that you saw, as well as having some personal significance for you, is supposed to herald change, metamorphosis, in your life." He stopped as he heard Seven inhale softly and realised himself that that analogy _was_ appropriate for Seven, who had just been torn from the Borg she knew and was on her way to being human again. "Only the most worthy in the tribe can summon the power of the raven to help them through change…" He saw Seven flinch and remembered that the raven had been frightening in her dreams, "Change isn't always pleasant, or for the better." He muttered wryly before continuing, "But for harmony we need to face it, and the raven keeps secrets that harm us for when we're ready to deal with them and heal."

Seven stared at him unblinkingly, "And you believe remembering this "secret" of my assimilation will help me?"

"Yes." Chakotay replied honestly, for he saw that it was a real question. "Eventually."

"The Captain has told me to study the Hansens belongings and logs." Seven confided after a long pause.

"But you don't want to?" Chakotay guessed, sighing as Seven nodded, sometimes the Captain did not know when to stop pushing. "That's okay, just because you found them, were guided to them, doesn't mean you have to cope with it all right away, no one could expect that." Seeing that she still felt unsure, he added gently, "Only you'll know when you feel ready, if ever. It might come in a dream, or one day it might not hurt so much, but I don't think you need to worry about that right now."

"No." Seven agreed heavily, suddenly rising from her seat. "Thank you Commander." She said again, almost a whisper this time.

"You're welcome." Chakotay replied warmly before watching her walk out.

That night, Seven was granted a peaceful, dreamless sleep in her alcove. Many years later, when the raven visited her again, she saw it without fear.

**A/n: I've really enjoyed writing this fic, thank you for all of your support everyone! PLEASE REVIEW this final chapter! :D I owe particular thanks to battlevalkyrie, who gave me the initial idea for this story, and lightbane1905, who provided all the information about Native American mythology for this fic. All that Chakotay said in this chapter is true according to Native American beliefs, I loved how the real mythology actually suited the storyline, amazing! **

**Of course, as always, a big thank you to all of the reviewers: lisac1965, Sweetdeath04, NikkiB1973, Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay, EMcKinney, Tropicalgirl, Teal06 and TV appreciator, as well as all future reviewers and everyone who put this on their favourites and alerts! :)**


End file.
